Do Cornflowers Need Sun?

Cornflowers thrive in various areas of the garden.

Cornflower, also known as bachelor's buttons or old-fashioned blue bottle, makes a colorful addition to sunny or partially shady areas of the garden. The annuals work well as bedding plants, adding touches of color from March through May.

Preference

While cornflowers prefer sunny areas of your garden, they grow in partial shade as well. Partial shade means the plants get a few hours of sunlight each day, enough to help them grow and produce flowers.

Description

When grown in full sun, cornflowers reach up to 3 feet in height. The plants produce flowers in shades of pink, purple and white. The drought-tolerant plant prefers well-drained soil. The seeds germinate within 7 to 25 days with shorter germination times occurring when the soil warms up to 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Suggested Uses

Cornflowers work well in seed mixtures that are planted annually in gardens and landscapes. You can also grow the brightly colored flowers along the road or in vacant lots thanks to their drought tolerance and flexibility to grow in full sun or partial shade. Some gardeners use the flowers to create colorful borders.

References

• Florida Gardener: Cornflowers, bachelor's buttons, basket flower, or the old-fashioned blue-bottle
• Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension: Cornflower/ Bachelor's Button

Resources

• North Carolina State University: Selection and Use of Stress-Tolerant Bedding Plants